Lessons of Stone

Lessons of Stone is a choral sound installation that was commissioned by The Astoria Choir, artistic director Adam Eggleston, specifically for performance at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City and in honor of the choir’s 10th anniversary.  Multiple movements were performed simultaneously in separate galleries, allowing the audience to wander from one audiovisual experience to another at their own pace. The work was inspired by the life and work of the museum’s namesake, sculptor and landscape artist Isamu Noguchi.  Original texts reflect Noguchi’s experience of time while creating his massive granite sculptures, the significance of the stone medium to him, the unique qualities of the museum that he designed, and his choice to voluntarily enter an internment camp with fellow Japanese Americans during World War II.  Lessons of Stone may be performed at other museums or locations featuring sculpture or landscape architecture by Isamu Noguchi, at other suitable locations, or in a concert performance.